San Antonio’s murals and art installations were created by a person who has since passed away. Jesse Trevio, who is best famous for creating the famous “La Veladora of Our Lady of Guadalupe” mosaic on the Westside of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, passed away on Monday morning at the age of 76.
The local organization La Familia Cortez, which operates eateries including Pico de Gallo and Mi Tierra, paid tribute to Trevio on their Facebook accounts on Monday afternoon. Trevio, who was also the co-curator of Mi Tierra’s “American Dream” painting, was close friends with the Cortez family.
Pete Cortez claims that Trevio and Jorge were close relatives. Trevio contributed to the realization of the Cortez family’s vision of developing a cultural arts hub at El Mercado, or the Market Place, and across the Zona Cultural. His father was a businessman who valued San Antonio’s arts and culture. According to Cortez, Trevio made everyone aware of the value of the arts in San Antonio.
Although the cause of Trevio’s death is unknown, the Express-News stated in a 2017 profile that he had struggled with a number of health conditions during his life, including throat cancer. Trevio was born on December 24, 1946, in Monterrey, Mexico, and was raised on San Antonio’s Westside.
After suffering a service-related injury that resulted in the loss of his right arm, he left Vietnam. Following his injury recovery, Trevio enrolled in San Antonio College where he studied one-handed painting.
The Chapa Lion Mural on the former Chapa drugstore, “Little Laredo” on the side of Casa Navarro, and—most notably—the mosaic of “La Veladora of Our Lady of Guadalupe” at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center are more examples of Trevio’s work.